KAJIADO, Kenya – Residents of Kajiado county can breathe a sigh of relief after the National Government started transferring the management of Amboseli National Park from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to the regional government.
With the handover, the park is set to provide revenue to the residents of Kajiado county after the national Government began handing over the wildlife sanctuary management to the County Government.
The 392 square-kilometre park is currently managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). It is known for its large elephant herds and views of immense Mount Kilimanjaro across the border in Tanzania.
This is after President William Ruto directed Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua to work on actualising the process between his department and the Kajiado county government.
The president spoke during Maa cultural week in Sekanani, Maasai Mara Game Reserve, in Narok on August 22, 2023.
Maa leaders, led by Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku, shed joy when the president announced the move.
“You have demonstrated beyond doubt that you can manage the resource,” Ruto said.
In a notice dated June 11, 2024, the ministry declared that it has gazetted and constituted an advisory committee to create the framework for transferring the park’s operations to the county government.
According to Mutua, the move was prompted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) recommendations and an Executive Order previously issued by the late president Mwai Kibaki.
“Following a Presidential Directive in August 2023 for the transfer of the Amboseli National Park to the County government of Kajiado, the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife vide Kenya Gazette Notice No. 1939, dated February 23, 2024, appointed and gazetted an Advisory Committee to advise on the framework for the transfer of functions of the Amboseli National Park to the County Government of Kajiado,” the gazette notice reads in part.
The public is invited to attend county-based citizen participation meetings, scheduled from 9am to 12pm, by invitation only from the Advisory Committee.
This initiative aligns with the constitution and legislative requirements to ensure broad consultations and public participation regarding the directive to transfer the functions of Amboseli National Park to the Kajiado county government.
For instance, on June 24, public participation will be held in Kajiado County at the Maasai Technical Training Institute, followed by another sitting the following day at Kimana Social Hall.
The sittings will then move to the Lower Eastern Venue at the Machakos Youth Centre on June 27.
Nyanza region will host public participation at the Regional Commissioner’s Hall in Kisumu on June 24, followed by another session at the Kisii Social Hall the following day.
Members of the public have also been invited to participate in Western Kenya at the Regional Commissioner’s Hall, Kakamega town, on June 27.
Public participation will be held on July 10 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.
The Head of State said the Kajiado County Government, which hosts the park, will add more land for wildlife conservation to increase the park’s revenue.
Ruto also directed that revenue should be shared between counties that host national parks and the national government.
He said the government plans to remit 50% of revenue generated from national parks to the counties where the conservancies are situated.
“Once we have done that, the county administrations should make good use of this money so that it can uplift the living standards of the people who play a great role in conserving the environment and wildlife,” he said.
The head of state was responding to pleas from Maa leaders, led by governors Patrick Ole Ntutu (Narok), Lenku (Kajiado), and Jonathan Leleliit (Samburu), who said that in addition to Maasai Mara in Narok and Samburu Game Reserve, Amboseli should also benefit from tourism proceeds.
“This is one of the historical injustices committed to the Maa community, and we will appeal directly to the head of state to have the park returned to our people,” Leleliit said.
Leleliit also said it was a big mistake for former leaders of the defunct Kajiado County Council to let KWS manage the park while the land belonged to the community.
